I think that Jorts could turn into a poor man’s Bill Laimbeer. He has the shot (sometimes). He is aggressive and dives on the floor for loose balls. He just needs to develop a mean streak and knock a couple PGs down when they drive to the basket.

xcat01:
I think that Jorts could turn into a poor man’s Bill Laimbeer.He has the shot (sometimes).He is aggressive and dives on the floor for loose balls.He just needs to develop a mean streak and knock a couple PGs down when they drive to the basket.

So MSG is doing something to blur out players tattoos, right? Noticed first on Bibby a few games back and thought maybe he hwas having one removed but now I see it on Shumpert, too. Not a huge tat fan, but that’s a bit weird.

Dutch pants playin really well on defense tonite. I hope we can play with this type of focus on the defensive end for the rest of the season. 1 complaint tho..I think Chandler needs to learn how to block shots. Sounds crazy I know, but all the greats blocked shots an kept the ball in play. Chandler swipes at alot of shots instead of goin up with the intent to block, and the thought that it could land him in foul trouble bothers me. The good thing about it is teams know the big man is protecting that paint, so my complaint is a small issue.
Watchin Douglas tonite, I think his biggest issue (other than the shoulder) is he seems to be thinking too much. I don’t kno…it jus seems like he’s makin more dumb plays than he did last season. That usually happens when ur thinking too much. After all, being the starting PG on this team is a tough job and he may be feeling too much pressure to perform

i just love Jorts out there. He does the little things too. just now when shump kicked to him, he quickly swung it back to shump so he he could then hit the now open STAT in the post. Very high Bball IQ in Jorts.

rrude:
So MSG is doing something to blur out players tattoos, right? Noticed first on Bibby a few games back and thought maybe he hwas having one removed but now I see it on Shumpert, too. Not a huge tat fan, but that’s a bit weird.

Knicks were in a great rhythm to start the game but one starters went to bench the offense went to crap (except for Stat) and starters couldnt get it back when they re-entered the game.

Still great 1st half, if Knicks can start 3rd quarter like they did 1st quarter could end this game early with Philly maybe just content to rest players rest of the game if game gets a bit out of hand.

good first half defensively. But i’m starting to agree with the melo critics on this blog. It’s frustrating, if he shares just a little more, he can be so great, and make everyone so much better. He is so skilled offensively and so dangerous, that he really needs to be a decoy more often. STAT needed more touches at the end of the half. It’s shump and melo’s job to get him the ball. Overall though a great first half. But, for the knicks to join the elite, melo is going to have to change his game. After 8 years in the league, i’m not sure he can.

I know, I know…I just cant stand the useless perimeter passing with no one who can really create (STAT, Shump, exempted) and then dribbling off their foot or some other creative turnover. I’m just kinda saying I take comfort in knowing that at least 1 player knows exactly what he is good at.

I remember a couple of years agom I clamored for the Knicks to draft Tyreke Evans on this site..if he were available. Watchin Shump…I think he’s everything I thought Evans could be in NY. Maybe even better for the team. They’ve got the same body type, but Shump’s using his length and quickness on D very well. I thought Evans would be that type of player for us. Also, Shump looks very natural as a PG on both ends of the floor. I think he’ll eventually max out as a 2 guard so I hope he can adjust playing Defense when he does play the 2 full time. Guarding 2’s is way different than guarding 1’s. Alot more screens and such and less ballhandling and penetration. But boy does he look great out there. His shot isn’t falling but he sure is a confident and heady kid. Whereas Tyreke Evans seems to have a much lower bball IQ. Looks like the draft went really well for the Knicks, no? Especially with the way Jorts has been playin.

BigBlueAL: Knicks were in a great rhythm to start the game but one starters went to bench the offense went to crap (except for Stat) and starters couldnt get it back when they re-entered the game.

I think a big part was Philly raised the defensive intensity. They weren’t running out on shooters much early on, and they weren’t trapping Carmelo so hard.

Re: melo ISOs. They were double teaming him 30 feet from the basket, so I don’t think he could shoot. The ball just has to move more. Guys can’t hesitate when they get open shots. It allows the defense to recover, leading to these late in the shot clock chucks.

DReDD:
I noticed a few times now on defense Melo at the top of the key put his hands up by his ears and wiggled his hands, and Shump did the same at least once. Anybody have an idea of what that means?

DReDD:
I noticed a few times now on defense Melo at the top of the key put his hands up by his ears and wiggled his hands, and Shump did the same at least once. Anybody have an idea of what that means?

i think I understand the Melo-iso offense a bit: if he hits a few tough shots or gets to the line a few times, he can draw a double or triple-team and he can kick out. The problem with it tonight is:
A. Iguodala can harass Melo
B. Melo can pass some, but he’s not THAT good enough a passer to make the right decision each time.
C. His shot selection sometimes is.. well.. ehh.

I guess it might have to do though a bit until Davis is healthy. I really think this team can do some big things with consistently good ball movement.

Respectfully, this is a great win against the hottest team in the NBA.
And teams that play their third straight seem to win an inordinate amount of games. I think they do because they’re in sync.
But this is a very good team they have lead for three straight periods. This sixers

That said, I’m glad they held on to win it. There were stretches where the offense and defense both looked excellent (the defense more than the offense). The 76ers are a hot team right now and we definitely held them in check.

I’ll take the win but I’m still holding off on saying this team is for real because there was no Spencer Hawes. The Sixers were hot coming into this game, but starting Tony Battie will cool off any team.

Not a great game in terms of offensive efficiency but the Sixers are a really tough defensive team even without Hawes. The Knicks’ improvement on the defensive end has been a refreshing change. They’re still not a great defensive team but they’re definitely improving.

D’Antoni rode the starting five very hard tonight; I hope they have something left for Memphis. Memphis has been dreadful on offense this year so hopefully the Knicks can keep up the good work on D.

This Knicks team wont be for real until Baron Davis comes back and is hopefully healthy for rest of the season.

PG play is KILLING this team. Shump has improved the team’s defense dramatically with his defense on PG’s but he is still nowhere near being a decent PG on offense. We cant have Melo bringing the ball up the floor all the time especially with somone like Iggy pressing him in the backcourt down the stretch.

This game desperately showed why we need a real point guard. Before Melo tried to go one on five, Shumpert was getting destroyed by ball pressure and everyone was coughing up the ball at every opportunity. Couple that with refs being a little more friendly to the Sixers near the end and you have the recipe for a huge collapse. We really don’t need some world beater PG, just someone who knows how to handle ball pressure and run an offense smoothly. I really, really think Baron can be that guy, and that once he’s here and we can bench Landry, we’ll have one of the best starting 5 in the league (SHUMP SHUMP should be considered for All defensive teams, he’s an absolute monster on that end). Our bench will still be a nightmare, but Jorts, Landry, and Douglas have the capacity to be solid rotation players once they settle into their proper roles (Toney Douglas can’t even dribble against ball pressure, much less run a pick and roll)

I think the main problem down the stretch is that Shumpert had the ball in his hands and was awful – overdribbling, ugly turnovers, stupid shots, you name it. If hero-ball with Melo is bad, hero-ball with Shumpert is something else. Of course it’s like his 5th game as a pro so we can hope for better.

Knicks are obviously playing better the last few games – partly Shump, partly just rounding into form. I know the bench has been brutal, but seriously – it won’t be this bad forever. Douglas and Walker each have a couple of years of solid play under their belt, and Fields was actualyl good last year. Odds are very that one or two of those guys will end up having a solid season.

I know D’Antoni is too inflexible to really play Balkman, which is one of his major problems as a coach – he plays favorites and holds grudges – since about 95 percent of NBA coaching is putting your best players on the floor, D’Antoni condemns himself to mediocrity in the coaching profession.

This team has a lot more weapons and they need to b utilized more. Use more players. Make two three teams within the team. We got some sharp shooters. Stop just playing the starters. Let the starters rest as well. Earn ur money u say. Hey, a win is a win.

I wasn’t crazy about the Baron Davis signing initially, but this team really needs someone who will actually run a play in the 4th quarter. Fields played very well defensively, hopefully he can build on that and make some kind of an impact on offense- it seems he and Walker have made a non-shooting pact. A couple of silly fouls aside, I thought TD was much better on D tonight as well, unfortunately he also threw a couple of the worst entry passes I’ve ever seen. Shumpert struggled as well- he never be taking heat check threes as he did twice after making a couple of 15 footers- I thought he was unusually passive on D early but then picked it up.

Caleb:
I think the main problem down the stretch is that Shumpert had the ball in his hands and was awful – overdribbling, ugly turnovers, stupid shots, you name it. If hero-ball with Melo is bad, hero-ball with Shumpert is something else. Of course it’s like his 5th game as a pro so we can hope for better.

Knicks are obviously playing better the last few games – partly Shump, partly just rounding into form. I know the bench has been brutal, but seriously – it won’t be this bad forever. Douglas and Walker each have a couple of years of solid play under their belt, and Fields was actualyl good last year. Odds are very that one or two of those guys will end up having a solid season.

I know D’Antoni is too inflexible to really play Balkman, which is one of his major problems as a coach – he plays favorites and holds grudges – since about 95 percent of NBA coaching is putting your best players on the floor, D’Antoni condemns himself to mediocrity in the coaching profession.

How many times tonight did we hear “wide open from 3″ or “so and so uncontested down the lane” like we heard over and over last year? Totally different defensive Knick team with Chandler out there, everyone’s helping, communicating. That steal by Anthony on Young at the end was the perfect example, not his man, but just playing great help defense.

That’s 2 games in a row where our offense was shaky and we won anyway, a very good sign IMO.

Dear friends on this board:
I am amused when we win that folks are concerned that the Knicks’ execution under pressure from a very tough team was not perfect.
Honestly, even great teams yield errors.
The Knicks held this team to 79 points. Imagine you made love to your wife and succeeded in pleasing her five times. Applying this board’s logic, your wife would then note that you did not succeed SIX times.
Yes, they struggled under pressure. But they also applied tremendous pressure. They are not just out scoring teams this year. Their defense has been imposing.
Shump played a solid game, and as Caleb noted, the rook made some rookie errors. But despite these shortcomings, the Knicks triumphed because they got timely bench play, key defensive stops, and some toughness.

Frank O.:
Last four games Knicks yielded 79, 87, 80, and 96.
Pretty damn good D

How many times tonight did we hear “wide open from 3? or “so and so uncontested down the lane” like we heard over and over last year? Totally different defensive Knick team with Chandler out there, everyone’s helping, communicating. That steal by Anthony on Young at the end was the perfect example, not his man, but just playing great help defense.

That’s 2 games in a row where our offense was shaky and we won anyway, a very good sign IMO.

I think Shump is having as great of an impact on the team defense as Chandler has had. Also Melo and Fields seem to be playing much, much better defense than they did last year. But again it helps when you have great defense on the opposing PG and a great backline defender like Chandler is.

Dude, your observations make no sense to me. Balk & Jorts don’t even play the same position.. It seems like English is possibly not your first language, but I don’t think that sufficiently accounts for your quixotic posts.

clearly the power of SHUMP SHUMP transcends exclamation points, nice to see we have some leeway going forward.

nice win, even with the Hawes and 3 games in 3 nights factors. Milwaukee may make a push, but basically the East has already divided into playoff and non-playoff teams, and once you’re in, how you play against bad teams doesn’t matter. 1-0 against eventual Eastern playoff teams, nice to see.

only 23 assists combined for the two teams, that is some good D and some bad O.

Frank O.:
Dear friends on this board:
I am amused when we win that folks are concerned that the Knicks’ execution under pressure from a very tough team was not perfect.
Honestly, even great teams yield errors.
The Knicks held this team to 79 points. Imagine you made love to your wife and succeeded in pleasing her five times. Applying this board’s logic, your wife would then note that you did not succeed SIX times.
Yes, they struggled under pressure. But they also applied tremendous pressure. They are not just out scoring teams this year. Their defense has been imposing.
Shump played a solid game, and as Caleb noted, the rook made some rookie errors. But despite these shortcomings, the Knicks triumphed because they got timely bench play, key defensive stops, and some toughness.

Frank, I think some on this board will only be happy if we beat Miami by 30 in Miami on the tail end of a back to back to back to back to back.

Frank O.:
Dear friends on this board:
I am amused when we win that folks are concerned that the Knicks’ execution under pressure from a very tough team was not perfect.
Honestly, even great teams yield errors.
The Knicks held this team to 79 points. Imagine you made love to your wife and succeeded in pleasing her five times. Applying this board’s logic, your wife would then note that you did not succeed SIX times.
Yes, they struggled under pressure. But they also applied tremendous pressure. They are not just out scoring teams this year. Their defense has been imposing.
Shump played a solid game, and as Caleb noted, the rook made some rookie errors. But despite these shortcomings, the Knicks triumphed because they got timely bench play, key defensive stops, and some toughness.

C’mon Frank. That 4th quarter was in no way orgasmic. More like premature ejaculation iso, turnover, foul on the other end.

Still they won it because of 3 quarters of excellent play and some quality defensive possessions in the 4th. Gotta give credit where it’s due.

Agree with Caleb’s observations almost entirely. Certainly Balkman could have gotten some burn tonight. His energy alone would have helped. I thought Shump’s D was awesome, but his PG skills were less than stellar. He did not react well to ball pressure at all and those studying film will no doubt recognize this issue. I thought TD showed some signs. Did Fields score? Melo got mauled a bit, but really played crappy in the fourth. The overall D was evident; however, we would have lost to a rested Philly team tonight.

there’s no need in most games in this gruelling schedule to only play eight guys, and Fields certainly does not need 35 minutes with the way that he’s playing. Novak should get a chance to shoot a few in the second quarter most nights too, and if he’s on, he can try again in the second half.

Frank O.:
Dear friends on this board:
I am amused when we win that folks are concerned that the Knicks’ execution under pressure from a very tough team was not perfect.
Honestly, even great teams yield errors.
The Knicks held this team to 79 points. Imagine you made love to your wife and succeeded in pleasing her five times. Applying this board’s logic, your wife would then note that you did not succeed SIX times.
Yes, they struggled under pressure. But they also applied tremendous pressure. They are not just out scoring teams this year. Their defense has been imposing.
Shump played a solid game, and as Caleb noted, the rook made some rookie errors. But despite these shortcomings, the Knicks triumphed because they got timely bench play, key defensive stops, and some toughness.

I was going to write an excuse to remain critical, but f*** it, you’re right. I’m just gonna enjoy the win and the fact that the Knicks are likely a top 10 defensive team in the NBA once the numbers from tonights games are calculated.

jon abbey: there’s no need in most games in this gruelling schedule to only play eight guys, and Fields certainly does not need 35 minutes with the way that he’s playing. Novak should get a chance to shoot a few in the second quarter most nights too, and if he’s on, he can try again in the second half.

Definitely agree with this and Caleb’s point above (although I disagree that he holds grudges). I think D’Antoni is a big proponent of using a smaller group of players to get into a rhythm with each other and it has yielded results in the past (i remember a lot of folks attributing our big winning streak last year to the implementation of a shortened rotation). I would imagine he’s probably trying to focus on getting a core group of guys on the same page before he brings in more guys off the bench. I’d expect them to get more burn once everything’s clicking a bit better.

Mulligan: Definitely agree with this and Caleb’s point above (although I disagree that he holds grudges). I think D’Antoni is a big proponent of using a smaller group of players to get into a rhythm with each other and it has yielded results in the past (i remember a lot of folks attributing our big winning streak last year to the implementation of a shortened rotation). I would imagine he’s probably trying to focus on getting a core group of guys on the same page before he brings in more guys off the bench. I’d expect them to get more burn once everything’s clicking a bit better.

yah, that whole grudges thing was ridiculous. The players who have accused MDA in the past are curry,marbury,hughes,robinson,AR. four of those players are cancers in the lockeroom and the other is an idiot on the floor

jaylamerique:
The knicks need a stretch 4. i think they miss S.Williams ability to open up the floor for the scores

Extra E is shooting 27% from the floor and 21% from three so far this season. The spread the floor big is Novak, but what we really miss is the old Toney Douglas… A guy who can create some offense when the bench is in.

latke: Extra E is shooting 27% from the floor and 21% from three so far this season. The spread the floor big is Novak, but what we really miss is the old Toney Douglas… A guy who can create some offense when the bench is in.

kobe and melo are so similar. Even with his 5 rings, kobe could be so much greater if he put more trust in his teamates. He literally took every shot the last 4 minutes of the game. He missed the game winner, and now it’s going into OT. I’m also watching the Heat game, and players like lebron just have a different type of DNA, they trust their teammates (in lebron’s case maybe he is too passive in the past).